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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. object — to protest
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. object — an aim
  7. last — to go on
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — to tease
  12. shower — to wash
  13. row — a line
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. last — final
  16. wound — an injury
  17. board — to get on
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — child
  20. board — a committee
  21. last — finally
  22. object — a thing
  23. snap — to click
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com